Week 2- What is Learning?

Wow! This baby just taught me something!

Engage

What can babies teach us about human learning?

Babies were once thought to be barely conscious creatures. People thought that babies couldn't focus, but the research has shown that babies take in everything around them all at once. Babies don't approach new situations with a jaded attitude. They are open-minded and open to learning. They also always, except in the circumstances of neglect, have a mentor nearby. Babies are also persistent. We have all learned to talk and walk, a highly sophisticated process because we didn't give up. It was hard work! With continued effort, we overcame the obstacles. If we wanted a cookie from the cookie jar on top of the refrigerator, we figured out a way to get it, even as toddlers. (I have two children, and they never failed to surprise me with what they could invent or accomplish if I left them alone for even a minute!) Another thing I've noticed about babies is that they sleep a lot. New neural synapses form when we sleep. This process is vital for learning. What this teaches us is that as older learners we should avail ourselves of the opportunity to act and think like babies.

• Use mentors
• Be open-minded to learning
• Allow yourself to make mistakes
• Make the effort
• Keep at it. Persistence pays off.
• Get enough sleep

Having viewed the video with Dr. Alison Gopnik, what ideas do you have about how her work with babies and play relates to your interests in teaching and learning STEM?

Dr. Alison Gopnik's work with babies fascinates me. She has to be extremely clever in her experimental designs, and I feel in awe and inspired. Dr. Gopnik creates ways to engage babies and learn what they are thinking. Those are two of my goals with my students. Particularly intriguing are her thoughts about the consciousness levels of babies and children. She described adult consciousness as a spotlight that super focuses on what we pay attention to but ignores the background. She further explained that in adults the pre-frontal cortex is stimulated to pay attention and learn and the rest of the brain sort of shuts off. Her analogy for babies and children was that their pre-frontal cortex had more of a lantern of consciousness making focusing on one thing more difficult. The upside is that they are great at taking in lots of information at once. Their brains swim in neurotransmitters that encourage learning. She said that being a baby is like being in love with a new person in Paris for the first time while drinking double shots of espresso. She explained it as an expanding consciousness. She suggested that to have "open-mindedness, open learning, imagination, creativity, innovation...we need to get the adults thinking more like children."

Taking Dr. Gopnik's ideas into the classroom would benefit my students. I envision using her ideas to stimulate their pre-frontal cortexes. Latching onto her idea about being in love with a new person in a new city, I think presenting the class with new situations, ideas, ways of doing things would be a step towards accomplishing this feat. I have several ideas in mind that I'm playing with to give the students a fresh perspective.

A new love in a new city- ideas:

• Take the class outside, to the gym, cafeteria, or auditorium for a change of scenery
• Build a pond for a pond ecology study
• Thinking on their feet- have the students write in their journals at the standing counter
• Complete a simple experiment with restrictions such as only use the non-dominant hand, do it blindfolded by following your partner's instructions, do the experiment with one hand tied behind your back (these all depend on the quality of the relationships in the class and may not be suitable for all classes)
• Participate in a community science activity that involves bringing in speakers, visiting sites outside of school, collaborating online
• Find out what interests the students and apply the science to those interests
• Take a survey similar to filling in a KWL worksheet, but also address what is the opposite view. It would look like- What I Know or Believe, What is my evidence, This the opposite point of view, This is the evidence for the differing point of view

Thinking about this week's topic and how to engage students reminded me of something the professors in Project-Based Learning warned us about. Be wary of doing projects that don't address student's discovery and learning. In my search for exciting ideas that will result in the new love in a new city feeling, I found a website that addressed what I just discussed. Steve Spangler Science at https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/2011/01/20/beyond-the-fizz-how-to-get-kids-excited-about-doing-real-science/ has a page titled SCIENCE FAIR SECRETS- BEYOND THE FIZZ – HOW TO GET KIDS EXCITED ABOUT DOING REAL SCIENCE. The golden nugget from this page is that great demonstrations need to link to doing the science. From the website:

"The first key to engaging students in doing real science is to understand the difference between a science demonstration and a hands-on science experiment. Demonstrations are usually performed by the teacher and typically illustrate a science concept. Science experiments, on the other hand, give participants the opportunity to pose their own “what if…?” questions, which inevitably lead to controlling a variable – changing some aspect of the procedure or the materials used to perform the experiment." (Spangler, 2011)

The author gives useful advice on how to proceed towards the scientific method. Mr. Spangler says, "Depending on the age of the students, you might need to ask a probing question like, “If we did this again, what would you like to do differently and what do you think would happen?” Encourage the children to work in small groups to come up with their questions." (Spangler, 2011)

Explain

Comparing Psychological Perspectives

How do these perspectives differ in their view of learning?

Behaviorism- Learning and behavior change are a consequence of conditioned responses to stimuli.

Cognitivism- Internal mental processing of information results in learning.

Constructivism- Experiences construct our knowledge.

References

Spangler, S. (2011, January 20). Beyond the Fizz - How to Get Kids Excited About Doing Real Science - Steve Spangler

Science. Retrieved from https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/2011/01/20/beyond-the-fizz-how-to-get-kids-excited

about-doing-real-science/